SANF 08 No 70
The first group of election observers from southern Africa has arrived in Zambia to observe the presidential elections scheduled for 30 October and deployment to the provinces has begun.
At least 25 election observers from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Election Observer Mission (SEOM) had arrived in Lusaka as of 14 October and were dispatched to the different provinces with the assistance of the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ).
In total, SADC is expected to have more than 100 observers coming from the different 15 Member States.
John Kunene, Swaziland Permanent Secretary for Defence who is heading the SEOM, said the regional observers were arriving in groups and final deployment is expected on 25 October.
“In compliance with the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections, the first team of electoral observers arrived in Zambia on 14 October 2008,” Kunene said.
He said the deployment of other observers would be done after the necessary administrative arrangements had been finalised.
Kunene said SEOM was in Zambia not to manage the electoral process, but to observe the management and conduct of the elections.
“Observing the presidential election in Zambia will enable SADC to consolidate, defend and maintain democracy in the region so that citizens can realise and enjoy peace, security and political stability,” he said.
The SEOM was confident that the tradition of peace encapsulated in the political maturity and tolerance among Zambians will guide the nation as it enters the polls at the end of the month.
The SADC observer mission will not operate in isolation but will “cooperate, interact and maintain consistent working relations” with local electoral authorities and various government institutions including other missions deployed in the country.
“We know our responsibilities and we will confine ourselves within our mandate so that our mission retains its credibility role as has been the case in other similar missions,” said Kunene.
The SEOM is backed by Article 5 of the SADC Treaty that outlines the objectives of SADC in which Member States are committed to the promotion of common political values and systems.
SADC Executive Secretary, Tomaz Salomão, noted that it was important for the presidential candidates in Zambia, the SADC leadership and Africa to continue setting an example of political maturity and practices in elections.
“The presidential candidates must be committed to democratic norms and principles. They must be able to continue setting a good example of political maturity and democracy on the continent so that the people can realise and enjoy peace, security and political stability,” said Salomão.
The executive secretary said the region is making strides in strengthening citizens’ participation in decision-making processes and consolidation of democracy.
“In a democracy, there should be no enemies but competitors and therefore compatriots. It is a game in which players propose in different ways how to manage the lives and livelihood of people,” he said.
The 30 October presidential poll will see four candidates running for office of president following the death of Levy Mwanawasa on 19 August.
The candidates are Rupiah Banda representing the ruling party, and leaders of opposition parties, Michael Sata, Hakainde Hichilema and Godfrey Miyanda.
Several other opposition parties withdrew from the race and decided to back Banda, who is standing on the ticket of the ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD).
There are no major surprises among the candidates. Perhaps the only newcomer to the presidential race is Banda who was chosen by the MMD in September as their candidate for the election.
The other candidates — Sata of the main opposition Patriotic Front (PF), Hichilema of the United Party for National Development (UPND) and Miyanda of the Heritage Party (HP) — are not strangers to the Zambia presidential contest.
In the 2006 September presidential poll, Mwanawasa of the MMD garnered 42.98 percent of the total votes winning the presidency while Sata came second with 29.37 percent.
Hichilema came third with 25 percent of the vote and Miyanda came fourth with 1.57 percent.
Zambia has invited other regional and sub-regional organisations to observe this month’s presidential elections.
Apart from SADC, other African regional organisations invited include the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Economic Community of West African States, Pan-African Parliament, Economic Community of Central African States, the East African Community, and the Maghreb Union.
International bodies invited include the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) bloc, the Non-Aligned Movement, Association of South East Asian Nations and the European Union.
Zambia has 3.9 million registered voters, and the ECZ says it will be using the 2006 voters’ role due to time limitations to conduct a fresh voters’ roll.
